THE Far South Coast under 13s representative soccer squad has had its best performance ever.
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Playing at the branch championships in Moruya the girls played four games in 24 hours and went undefeated to win outright.
Coach Hugh Pitty had urged the girls to score early and they provided in the first match against Shoalhaven.
Strikers Chloe Harlow and Tayla Wilson proved a devastating combination up front to secure a 5-0 opening round win.
The squad scored more goals in the four games than it has in previous tournaments combined Pitty said.
“In total, 19 goals were scored by six players with Chloe Harlow top scoring with 12 goals,” Pitty said.
Chloe’s haul included two hat-tricks and a five goal haul against Eurobodalla.
Pitty said it was “an important victory” as the FSC has never beaten Eurobodalla before.
“What was most impressive is, early in the first half the Far South Coast team were down 1-0, but responded quickly scoring two goals in two minutes to turn the game around,” Pitty said.
Chloe booted both, with Tayla soon adding a third.
Eurobodalla’s chances were dashed in the second half when Kasey Kennedy chimed in and more goals to Tayla and Chloe saw the score blowout to 8-2.
Chloe shot her fifth in the back of the net just seconds before the final whistle to complete her five-goal haul.
“The Far South Coast team had certainly exceeded all expectations by achieving many milestones on the first day,” Pitty said.
With a rematch against Eurobodalla the following morning, the FSC faced a much more coordinated effort.
Chloe scored to take a 1-0 lead before Eurobodalla responded with a free kick to level at 1-1.
Chloe nearly took advantage in the second half, but her kick bounced off the cross bar.
The final whistle sounded with the teams deadlocked on one apiece.
The final match saw Shoalhaven making a comeback, but the FSC pulled ahead in the second half to claim the win.
“In the second half, the Far South Coast team was more focused and soon the goals began to flow again,” Pitty said.
Pitty said the honours were shared around by the FSC girls with Janet King and Emma Webster picking up a goal each.
“A convincing second-half effort from the whole team delivered a third win.
“Giving the FSC 10 points to round out their best ever performance,” he said.
Pitty said he was extremely proud of the effort from everyone during the tournament.
“Rebecca Gray was outstanding as goalkeeper for the whole second day.
“Shai Bamford was a reliable last line of defence as sweeper, clearing the ball away time after time,” he said.
Pitty said other girls had impressed through the mid and attack.
“Kiarna Mitchell was very strong as stopper breaking up the other team’s attack.
“Isabel Bellicanta as right wing back and Jess Simpson as left wing back were both solid in their tackling,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pitty said Sian Coombes was a “terrier” in defence when she was injected from the bench.
Pitty said Gypsy Wright, Lauren Terry, Nariah Whipp and Gracie Bamford made excellent plays in the midfield.
Pitty said the wingers and strikers had combined well to form an unstoppable attack and were “versatile” in their assaults on goals.
“Together ... the soccer team were awesome,” Pitty said.